Christmas Wrap.

A few weeks ago, when our priest asked for volunteers to carry the bowl of flaming incense down the aisle and up to the altar for the Children's Christmas Eve mass, he had many refusals. One notable rejection from Emily at the thought she may have to put on a dress. Then a volunteer spoke up, "I'll do it." It was Wyatt. Before I could have a say in the matter, [the overprotective Mother in me thinking he was a bit small for such a big job] Wyatt was receiving instruction on how to step and dance the bowl down the aisle, a feat he would perform twice during the mass. Along with his duty as incense bowl carrier, he was also a Shepherd in the recreation of the holy family at Jesus' birth.

Fast forward to Christmas eve. My handsome son, the Shepherd. My lovely daughter, the Angel. Proud Mama moment. Until the bowl of incense came into the picture again. I was grinding my teeth hard, thinking the worst. He made it through the first trip down the aisle just fine, not exactly as precise as he had been instructed but he got through it OK. As we sat through the mass he became sleepy and I almost had to push him off of me to send him up for his Shepherd duty, Sarah of course, was fully awake and performed her angel duties just right. My sleepy boy was a bit of a lazy Shepherd, reclining on the step, lids looking heavy throughout the portrayal.

Then came the second performance down the aisle with the incense. He did much better this time, much more in step with his partner, dancing away, swirling the wooden bowl into peoples faces as he came up the aisle toward the altar. What I hadn't noticed was the way his Shepherd costume had dropped lower below the rope that held it in place at the waist.

As soon as he stepped up toward the altar, he went down, bowl of sand and incense flying up, full face plant at the feet of our priest who, in the calmest manner you can imagine, picked up my son, scooped the sand and the burning incense back into the bowl with his hands, and gently pulled the Shepherd robe up and over that rope once again so that it did not drag the ground. He handed the bowl back to Wyatt who, like nothing had happened, finished his task of taking the bowl around the altar and back down the steps. You can see what wasn't cleaned up behind Wyatt on the carpet in the photo of him alone.

Looking back, it was so predictable. Long robe, new shoes, burning incense, drowsy boy, step up. Yes, I have it on video and it is sad and kind of funny at the same time. If you come to my house, I will show it to you but I am not putting it on the internet! It ranks up there with the most memorable Christmas eve masses. Like the one when Emily was the Angel and she fell asleep [cute video]. Or three years ago when Emily portrayed Mary in the recreation of the holy family, and halfway through mass, Sarah, then four years old, pulled the fire alarm. Sweet, happy memories.

Christmas week was a nice mixture of peaceful, restful, fun and crazy. We went ice skating the Monday before Christmas and I discovered that I could still skate!

Tony is back to work this week and we are looking forward to tonight, saying goodbye to 2008, welcoming 2009, and celebrating Tony's 40th birthday with family and friends on Friday.

Farewell 2008 [stop pushing me], thank you for the goodness and the sweetness and the love. So long and cheers!